Photo: Bluewave at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 54.5: Martlesham Heath is older than 96% of UK towns
Households in detached houses: 49% here and 21% across England’s towns. 2,730 residents in 1,329 households: that is Martlesham Heath at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. At 1.4%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 94% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Martlesham Heath’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Martlesham Heath at 3,100 in 2011 and 2,800 in 2024, down 8%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Martlesham Heath’s residents are under 54.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Slower growth than 99% of UK towns: Martlesham Heath changed by −8% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Martlesham Heath’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,100 people in 2011; 2,800 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+62%) and 16 to 29 least (−33%).
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns, at 6.7%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns, against 34% in Martlesham Heath. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Martlesham Heath, 54.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.7%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, 6.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Martlesham Heath ranks below 97% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 18%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Suffolk’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Just over a third of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%. Households here average 2.1 people each.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 86% of UK towns: 11%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
With households in flats at 13%, Martlesham Heath is ahead of 63% of UK towns on that count. Lower than in 69% of UK towns: 12% of households have no car or van. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%.
7.2% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 57% of UK towns don’t reach
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 16%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). 98% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 51% of UK towns. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 67% of UK towns: 53%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 92% of Martlesham Heath · Suffolk’s towns 86% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (0.8%). Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 62% of UK towns. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%; Martlesham Heath has 92%.
24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
82 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 69% of UK towns. The usual figure: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 36% of adults in Martlesham Heath, 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification, against 18%.
34th highest median age among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and West Chiltington (63.1), the oldest. Nearest to Martlesham Heath in age: Bilton (54.4), Long Melford (54.5), Prestbury (54.6) and Combe Martin (54.6).
Martlesham Heath is older than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martlesham Heath | 2,730 | — | 54.5 | 34% | 18% |
| Martlesham | 1,976 | 0.7 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 28% |
| Kesgrave | 14,947 | 1.3 mi | 44.1 | 20% | 33% |
| Woodbridge | 10,146 | 2.8 mi | 53.3 | 33% | 21% |
| Grundisburgh | 1,424 | 3.6 mi | 49 | 27% | 28% |
| Melton | 1,608 | 3.9 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Kirton | 1,245 | 4.2 mi | 51.8 | 28% | 24% |
| Sutton Common | 1,262 | 4.9 mi | 29 | 12% | 43% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Suffolk’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Suffolk (or England), summed the same way as Martlesham Heath’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Martlesham Heath’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,862 people in 2021, against 2,730 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Martlesham Heath’s residents
What is the population of Martlesham Heath?
The 2021 Census counted 2,730 people in Martlesham Heath’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,800 people in mid-2024, 8% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Martlesham Heath?
The median age was 54.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 6.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Martlesham Heath?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 86% across Suffolk’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Martlesham Heath?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Martlesham Heath good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Martlesham Heath’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.